Thank you to everyone who reviewed! You're all super kind!

So, if you hadn't noticed this is my first story and I wasn't sure about leaving author's notes because some people do and some people don't and whenever they're too long I personally just skip them. But, one reviewer pointed out that I could provide some important info.

No, I don't have a regular update schedule, I'm in a pretty rigorous major in school so studying comes first (unless I procrastinate like I'm doing now). I do find this stress relieving lol and I don't plan on the story being of epic length and long-winded, so I do plan to update kind of a lot and I plan on finishing it. I kind of find myself having trouble writing anything that doesn't get to the point of the story, so I know some chapters are super short (i.e. ch 2 is like a continuation of the prologue...oops).

Anyway, this chapter is longer, and darker, and things are FINALLY picking up!

Thanks again for reading :) and reviewing ;)


8th year of Danzo's Rule

It was nearing curfew and Itachi was walking the perimeter of the Uchiha clan compound. After check-in at six-thirty o'clock, a civilian Uchiha was missing. Taro was the six year-old son of Uchiha Akako, a seamstress whose jounin husband had been taken to the Root training camps. The poor mother had come sobbing and shaking to the clan head's house, and while Itachi's mother sat her down and gave her tea, Itachi quickly left to search for the boy. But what would a civilian boy, younger than Sasuke-kun, be doing out so late? Itachi would sneak out of the compound if he had to, but there were still eight minutes until the curfew.

Near the west gate, he spotted a white-masked figure carrying a small lump. As he neared, Itachi saw that it was Taro, clutching a brown sack and tear streaks running down his cheeks. The Root ANBU shoved the boy into Itachi's arms, and he was alarmed to feel sticky blood through the back of Taro's shirt.

"Why is he hurt? He is just a boy, and a civilian at that!"

The Root shinobi turned his blank face toward Itachi. "Stealing is not permitted. He was appropriately punished. Three lashes for three stolen dumplings."

Itachi tried to keep the scowl off of his face. "A lash is not a punishment, just a fear tactic."

The Root member tilted his head slightly before leaping off. Itachi felt his finger twitch, but turned his focus to the quivering child in his arms. Murmuring soft words, he smoothed Taro's short hair back and bounded toward his friend, Izumi's, house.

Once there, he patiently rapped on her door. It opened just a crack before Izumi recognized him and ushered him in. Taro was quietly taken from his arms as Izumi carried the boy to the back of the house, already gently removing his bloody shirt.

"Taro-kun, I'm going to fix you up and ease the pain, okay? We don't want your kaa-san to see you so messy, right?" Izumi's hand lit up with mild green chakra as she started wiping the blood from the boy's back.

Taro would be traumatized for a while, but Izumi would heal him just fine. His friend was sometimes too altruistic for her own good, but he knew through experience she would hardly listen to his criticisms.

As she worked, Itachi studied the room. After the death of her parents, Izumi moved to the outskirts of the compound, to a small, dark house. He studied the photos of the family she had hung on the walls. Her father was not an Uchiha, and so they had been (and Izumi was still) out-casted. A thought came to him; he vaguely remembered another outcast that had lived in this same house, his excitable cousin, Obito. The house seemed to be a desolate shelter for lonely pariahs. If he didn't have to worry so much about external affairs, maybe he could've focused on bettering the Uchiha clan.

When Izumi was finished, the three of them silently walked back to Itachi's house, Taro riding on the girl's back. At the front steps, before he opened the door, Itachi handed Taro his brown sack. The boy shied away.

"I don't want them anymore."

Understandable. The dumplings had gotten him hurt, and while he shouldn't have stolen them, the food was his to eat now. Itachi lightly poked the boy in the forehead.

"Take them, Taro-kun. They are yours now."

Once the relieved mother and again sobbing boy left to return to their own house, Itachi, Izumi, Sasuke, and Mikoto were left standing in the kitchen. Mikoto looked as youthful as ever, if not for the slight silvering at her temples and the leaner and more stressed face. She sighed and ran her hands over her eyes before gripping the countertop until her knuckles turned white.

"Stealing food is not a good sign. We'll have to keep a closer eye on the rations."

Itachi jumped in. His mother did not need any added stress. "I'll take care of it, Kaa-san. Let's get some rest and look into it tomorrow."

She nodded and kissed him on the cheek as she exited the room. She walked Izumi to the front door, murmuring her thanks for healing the boy.

Itachi turned; Sasuke was staring at him flatly. "Aren't you going to walk your girlfriend home?"

He stiffened, not sure how to reply. He none-too-gently poked Sasuke's forehead and turned toward the front room to put on his sandals.


Three weeks later, Sasuke was facing Sakura on the Academy training grounds. It was taijustu practice, and as with every other activity, they were paired together. Whether it was a teamwork exercise, a spar, or a project, Sasuke and Sakura were partners. The other members of their class usually worked in their teams of three, or had usual partners when only two were needed, and Sasuke and Sakura just happened to always be the ones left over. It was fine, though they had a rough start, they worked well together.

Sakura was smart and responsible, and when she wanted something finished, she worked tenaciously. Originally one of the weakest students, she was now the top kunoichi and Sasuke could respect her hard work. That didn't mean she didn't lose every single spar between them.

Tripping Sakura by placing his foot behind hers so she was off balance, Sasuke won yet again. Judging by her glare, he knew she would get back at him in some way. Vindictive, Sakura was. Forgiving, she was not.

Sure enough, once they were back in the classroom, Sakura not-so-subtlety kicked the leg of his chair as she passed his desk, causing it to jerk to the side. After righting himself, Sasuke gave a long suffering sigh. As a peace offering, he asked for help with tree walking later in the week.

Once Iruka-sensei released the students, Sasuke waited for Sakura to finish packing her bag and say goodbye to Ino. Academy students were supposed to go right home after class or to the designated training grounds until curfew, but Sasuke offered to walk Sakura home. Once they became genin, they would be teammates, and though neither had any idea who would be the third member; it didn't hurt to spend time getting to know each other now. Besides, Sasuke had a message for Sakura's parents, two Konoha business owners with plenty of sway in the civilian council and some of the few non-shinobi with Old Konoha ideals.

They walked silently down the street, and again Sasuke got the distinct feeling that someone was missing. He hoped whoever the Hokage assigned as their third team member was more personable than either of them. The houses in the neighborhood gradually grew larger and more traditional, the lots more spacious, and the gardens well-manicured. The civilians they passed sneered at the two students. Ninja were not nicely viewed by many anymore, and it was seen as a disgrace that Sakura had chosen the profession rather than following in her parents' footsteps.

As they turned the corner, a large crowd was seen at the end of the Harunos' street. Shouts and crashes were heard, and Root nin were swarming the roof of Sakura's house. Neighbors were watching, nosy and fearful, and wary enough to not get too close. Sasuke just managed to grab Sakura's elbow and pull her into the alley before she ran off.

"Quietly," he hissed as they shuffled away. "Sakura, you don't want to be caught up in whatever is going on. Let's do reconnaissance first."

They crept behind the houses before stopping across the street from the Sakura's and watched from the shadows. Sakura's father, Kizashi, held her mother, Mebuki, as she sobbed. They were stood on their front lawn watching as Root nin trashed their house, destroying furniture, books, and belongings, searching for any telling sign of treason. A pile of books was also on the lawn, just starting to burn and fill the air with acrid smoke.

Sakura gasped. "That's our entire library! With our history books! Volumes, dating back to before Konoha was founded! Please, Sasuke, don't let them burn them!"

Sasuke's breath caught in his chest. He couldn't do anything! Besides, it looked like there was a more serious problem. One of the white-masked shinobi leaped from an upstairs window with a thick, red leger in his hands. He displayed it to his superior, flipping through the pages and quietly indicating neat lines and calculations.

Sakura let out a small, desperate whine. "That's our finance book. No, no!" She covered her own mouth with her right hand, her left gripping Sasuke's arm as he pulled her back against him and further into the shadow of the neighbor's house. The children stood rigidly, eyes wide. Sasuke knew that Sakura knew what would happen. Civilians were not sent to the training camps, civilians were useless.

The Root-taicho sauntered over to Sakura's parents. "Haruno Kizashi, you have been found guilty of treason. Your family, finances, and belongings will become property of the state."

"Please," the pink-haired man begged, "our daughter is a loyal Ninja Academy student; she has nothing to do with this."

"Even so, she is the daughter of a treasonous man, she cannot be trusted."

So fast that Sakura and Sasuke could barely track it, a kunai had sliced Kizashi's throat and the man collapsed with a gurgle. Mebuki screamed, and Sasuke felt hot blood running down his face, and his right arm from where he had placed his hand on top of his friend's. Sakura had bitten her own hand, but refrained from crying out. His eyes burned, and he was able to see as Mebuki's sorrowful form shifted to one of desperate anger.

"You bastards are tearing Konoha apart!" Sasuke saw as Sakura's mother readied to throw herself in the now large fire, to burn with the books, and he abruptly tugged Sakura around so her face was pressed against his chest. He anxiously formed a one-handed seal, throwing his chakra into the jutsu, please let this work, and successfully shunshined Sakura and himself away.

They toppled to the floor of his brother's office. Sakura was shaking uncontrollably and Sasuke immediately felt the chakra drain from the technique exhausting his reserves and was unable to support them. He heard the scrape of the chair as Itachi stood at the sight of them, rushing to help the two academy students. Sasuke met Itachi's gaze, watching as if in slow motion as Itachi's sharingan appeared in response to his own awakened dojutsu. He reached a shaky hand to wipe at the blood still pouring down his face, but spots flashed through his vision and Sasuke's hand fell back to the ground as his world went dark.


Naruto jettisoned out of his cot and stood at attention as the bars to his cell clanged open. The Hokage was here, in the middle of the night, and he was angry. Naruto quailed, memories of the previous times this had happened flashed through his mind, but he shoved those thoughts away and resisted the urge to glance at Shisui disguising himself in the shadows under the cot.

Stupid, to think they could fool the Hokage for long. Two Root guards dragged Shisui out by his ankles, slapping chains around each and a chakra-suppressing collar around his neck. The Hokage started toward him, and Naruto began to etch out a bow but was abruptly backhanded by the old man, causing him to lose balance and stumble to the ground.

"Did you think," the paper-thin voice hissed, "that I would not find out?"

Danzo's killing intent attacked Naruto, causing his breath to stutter. "Jinchuurikis do not have rights. Monsters do not have friends. At the end of the day, a murderer is alone with no accomplices. Your plan to hide Uchiha Shisui from the Root guards was a naïve and foolish one."

He turned to Shisui. "And you, grandson of my old teammate. I had high hopes for you once you completed your training. But, just like your grandfather, you have an irresponsible will to wile yourself into dangerous situations. Tell me, Shisui-kun, do you enjoy suffering?"

Shisui's entire frame was wrought with tension, but he forced himself to look down in deference to the Hokage. He did not want to make things worse for Naruto or himself. He startled however, when the blond boy somehow managed to lever himself up and stand between Danzo and Shisui.

"P-please, Hokage-sama. He…he's been teaching me. Orochimaru-sensei is always so busy, you know? And he never explains things. That's why I hid him here."

Naruto was nothing if not brave. The old man crouched down, staring at the boy with a chilly gaze. He lifted his hand, not quite touching Naruto's face, the tips of his wrinkled fingers seeming to glow red from within.

"Do you remember, digging a grave for your dark-haired friend? The one who liked to draw such inky, ribbon-like pictures?"

A strangled sound escaped Naruto's throat. He trembled but stood firm. "I have no friends, Hokage-sama. I only wanted to become stronger."

The Hokage sneered, and Naruto gulped. Still-burning fingers grazed his scalp as he jerked Naruto around to face Shisui and the scent of singed hair and skin filled the cell.

Danzo tilted Naruto's head back so he was forced to look Shisui in the eyes. "He still doesn't understand. Monsters are alone. Of all the things you will teach him, Shisui-kun, this lesson is of paramount importance."

He shoved Naruto toward one of the Root shinobi, and nodded at the other to grasp Shishui's collar. "Put the jinchuuriki in the cold cells. Shisui-kun is to receive due punishment for skipping his work and then he will return to the labor force. Once I have deemed the jinchuuriki ready, he will be taught by his new sensei."

Naruto howled. "No! Please, I don't want to go there. Please, Hokage-sama." He thrashed and bit the Root guard; he did not want to go to the cold cells. But Danzo did not turn to face him, and the last thing Naruto heard were his condescending words to Shisui.

"What an honor it is to take part in the training of Konoha's greatest weapon."